lingua franca

English

Wikipedia

Etymology

From Italian lingua franca (“Frankish language”)

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈlɪŋ.ɡwə fɹæŋ.kə/

Noun

lingua franca (plural lingua francas)

1. a common language used by people of diverse backgrounds to communicate with one another, often a basic form of speech with simplified grammar

Usage notes

• The most common plural form in English is lingua francas; however, the plural forms lingue franche (following the Italian) and linguae francae (in the style of Latin) are both fairly common as well. Also attested, but quite rare, and probably nonstandard, is the form linguas franca (treating lingua alone as the noun and taking franca as an adjective; compare attorneys general, forests primeval).

Synonyms

• (common language): koine

Antonyms

• (common language): vernacular

Translations

common language

• Arabic: لغة تواصل مشترك f (lúġat tawāṣul muštarak)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 通用語 (zh), 通用语 (tōngyòngyǔ), 交際語, 交际语 (jiāojìyǔ)

• Dutch: lingua franca
• Finnish: lingua franca
• French: lingua franca (fr) f, langue véhiculaire (fr) f
• German: Lingua Franca (de) f, Verkehrssprache (de) f
• Greek: κοινή διάλεκτος (koiní diálektos), κοινή γλώσσα (koiní glóssa)
• Hungarian: közvetítőnyelv
• Irish: francbhéarla m
• Italian: lingua franca f

• Japanese: リングワ・フランカ (ringuwa-furanka), リンガフランカ (ringafuranka), 共通語 (きょうつうご, kyōtsūgo)
• Korean: 링구아 프랑카 (ringgua peurangka)
• Latin: lingua franca f
• Persian: زبان میانجی (zabân-e miyânji)
• Portuguese: língua franca f
• Russian: лингва-франка f (língva-fránka) (indeclinable), общий язык m (óbščij jazýk), язык (межнационального) общения m (jazýk (mežnacionál'novo) obščénija)
• Spanish: lengua vehicular f, lengua franca f, lingua franca (es) f
• Thai: ภาษากลาง (paasăa glaang)

Related terms

• Mediterranean Lingua Franca
• global language
• international language

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Italian

Noun

Wikipedia ^it

lingua franca f (invariable)

1. The Mediterranean Lingua Franca, a common language spoken in Mediterranean ports in centuries past (consisting of Italian mixed with French, Spanish, Arabic and some Greek words and used by sailors of different countries to communicate with one another).